By: Julia Xia, Staff Writer
Usually when you think of December the thought of Christmas and jingle bells fills your mind, but in reality there are tons of different cultural celebrations and holidays that happen during the 12th month of the year. In December there are many holidays celebrated by different cultures and people, some of which you’ve probably never heard of. For example, there’s Rohatsu, Hanukkah, and the Winter Solstice. These holidays are often overlooked by others simply because of the impact Christmas has had on the world. Therefore, it is even more important to learn about the different holidays that happen during this time of year.
Rohatsu, also known as Bodhi Day, is celebrated by Japanese Zen Buddhists, it’s a time when they observe the enlightenment of the historical Buddha. Rohatsu is the last day of a week-long sesshin. While they are awake they spend their time meditating, when they aren’t in a meditation hall they stay in meditation focused while eating, cleaning, doing chores, etc. They also stay silent throughout the ordeal. The story behind the enlightenment is after years of trying to find peace, the future Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama realized enlightenment through meditation. While meditating he was tempted by the demon Mara to give up the quest. He taunted him and tried over and over again to break him out of his meditation but Siddhartha refused to move and eventually, he realized enlightenment and became the Buddha.
Whether you refer to this eight-day long celebration as Hanukkah or as The Festival of Lights. Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday that remisses on the recovery of Jerusalem and the re-dedication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. This year, the holiday began on November 28 and will end on the 6th of December. The reason why Hanukkah begins on a different day almost every year is determined by the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev and can start anywhere from late November to December. During the eight-day celebration, it’s common to eat oil-based foods and sing traditional Hanukkah songs; many Jewish families will also give gifts each night. One of the most important parts of the Hanukkah celebration, however, is lighting a candle each day. The Jewish light a single candle on their menorah each day to commemorate the time the Maccabees lit a lantern after their victory against the Greeks. They only expected it to last a single day but it miraculously lasted eight whole days.
The Winter Solstice or Yule is a pagan holiday that’s celebrated on the twenty-first of December and was celebrated in Britain long before Christianity even existed. Many traditions from the Yule have been passed down and blended into modern Christmas traditions. Since oak was sacred and mistletoe was a symbol of life in the dark winter months, Celtic priests would cut the mistletoe and give it as a blessing. Another Yule tradition that has since been incorporated into Christmas tradition is the Yule tree. Pine trees were chopped and brought into the homes of worshipers to be decorated with foods and treats to give the wood spirits something to eat. In summary, the Winter Solstice or Yule is a celebration of the return of light and the fulfillment of Light birthing out of Darkness.
As we have seen, there is more to December than Santa Claus and his reindeer. There is a whole world of cultural celebrations that we don’t acknowledge and pay enough attention to. By paying attention to holidays and festivals that are outside of mainstream American culture, we get a more profound understanding of how people around the world appreciate their culture.
